Japan and China should promote bilateral relations with the spirit of "learning from history and facing the future", said Yasuhiro Nakasone, former Japanese Prime Minister, in Beijing Wednesday.  

Nakasone told the Chinese press at the 12th annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) that he believed the bilateral relations between Japan and China will become better and better.

Nakasone said the bilateral ties made sound progress at present, and the two countries should erase barriers and treat the bilateral ties from a global and strategic perspective.

He spoke highly of China's policy towards Japan, hoping that the Japanese government would make a related response.

China's continuous economic growth promoted cooperation and friendship between the two countries, he said, adding that Japan and China should enhance economic cooperation and cultural exchanges, so as to strengthen the understanding between the two peoples.

He also noted the problems existing in the bilateral ties could be solved through friendly cooperation and intelligence, not only with the governmental efforts, but also with the people's understanding.

On this year's APPF annual meeting, Nakasone said the meeting recorded more fruitful achievements than previous ones.

The meeting was conducive for Asia-Pacific parliamentarians to increase understanding and friendship, and cemented regional unification and cooperation, he said.

He explained that the parliamentary exchanges enable the Asia-Pacific people to know more about each other and then urge the governments to make a related response, hence promoting regional peace and prosperity.

In the past half a century, Nakasone played an important role in the Japanese political circle. He has visited China for many times since 1954, and actively promoted the normalization of the bilateral ties.

As a witness of history, he experienced many great changes, including the changes of the bilateral ties between Japan and China, he said, noting that China's recent development had aroused the world's attention.

Initiated by Nakasone, the APPF was staged in Tokyo in 1993 with Nakasone serving as APPF president since then. The 86-year-old Nakasone presented his resignation at this year's meeting and expressed his hope for all APPF countries to strive for further development of the APPF.

(Xinhua News Agency January 15, 2004)